Four the Record
Encyclopedia
Four the Record is the fourth studio album by American country music artist Miranda Lambert
, released on November 1, 2011, through RCA Records Nashville
. The album's first single, "Baggage Claim
," became Lambert's highest debuting single at number 33 on Billboard
Hot Country Songs
chart.A deluxe edition was also released on November 1 featuring a bonus song and a DVD.
would transfer to RCA Nashville as part of a corporate restructuring.
Lambert wrote or co-wrote six of the album's tracks. Included on the album is a duet with Blake Shelton
titled "Better in the Long Run."
with 133,000 copies sold in its first week, making it Lambert's highest charting album of her career.
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on 11 reviews, indicating "Universal acclaim".
Allmusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine, praised the bravery of album and awarded it with four-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote: "with Four the Record, she’s digging deeper than ever before and finding considerable riches." Country Weekly
gave the album five stars out of five and wrote: "With due respect to her previous fine efforts, Four the Record is easily Miranda's best album yet." Entertainment Weekly
gave a very positive review to the album, rated it as A- and said: "Four is her most vivid effort yet, with brilliantly observed songs about lust (Fine Tune) and disappointment (Same Old You), as well as a stirring celebration of diversity (All Kinds of Kinds)." The A.V. Club
was also positive on the album, rated it as B+ and wrote:" The bevy of writers and co-writers guiding Lambert results in a ranging, not especially cohesive album that makes up for the occasional dud (the schmaltzy power ballad "Better In The Long Run," a duet with Lambert's husband Blake Shelton) with plenty of solid earworms (the catchy mid-tempo "Safe") and a couple of welcome left turns (the loping, back-porch sing-along "Easy Living")."
Slant Magazine
writer Jonathan Keefe gave the album three-and-half-stars out of 5 and said: "Without a thematic through line or recurring lyrical motifs or meaningful efforts at myth-building or any of the other sophisticated flourishes that have made her albums so rich, Four the Record is left as a solid collection of better-than-average songs cast in arrangements that offer a progressive take on modern country." Spin
magazine scored it as 7 out of 10 and commented: "The real strength here is the feline sharpness of Lambert's voice." The Boston Globe
gave a positive review to the album and said: "On a rock solid and expansive set of songs, Lambert mixes backbeats, production styles, fuzzed-out vocals, slinky slide guitars, and other offbeat elements into a cohesive whole." Randy Lewis of Los Angeles Times
was also positive on the album and wrote: "This successor represents a further evolution of her talent as both creator and interpreter."
The album also received some mixed reviews. One of them came from The New York Times
writer Stephen Holden, who said: "Normally, she's emphatic in the right places, but this album also includes some of Ms. Lambert's least committed singing." The other one was from PopMatters
which scored it as 6 out of 10 and criticized: "This is the weakest of Lambert's four big solo records, and overall it lacks the lively charm of Hell on Heels, her excellent August album with the supergroup Pistol Annies."
Technical and production
Visuals and imagery
Sounding
On Instruments
Managerial
Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert is an American country music artist who gained fame as a finalist on the 2003 season of Nashville Star, where she finished in third place and later signed to Epic Records. Lambert made her debut with the release of "Me and Charlie Talking", the first single from her 2005 debut...
, released on November 1, 2011, through RCA Records Nashville
RCA Records Nashville
RCA Records Nashville is an American Country music record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is distributed by Sony Music Nashville which is part of Sony Music Entertainment. RCA Nashville recently took in some artists from Columbia Nashville which is being discontinued...
. The album's first single, "Baggage Claim
Baggage Claim
"Baggage Claim" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country artist Miranda Lambert. It was released in August 2011 as the lead-off single from her fourth studio album, Four the Record...
," became Lambert's highest debuting single at number 33 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart.A deluxe edition was also released on November 1 featuring a bonus song and a DVD.
Background
Lambert announced in July 2011 that her fourth studio album, Four the Record, would be released on November 1, 2011. A month later, Sony Music Nashville announced that Lambert and labelmate Josh ThompsonJosh Thompson (singer)
Josh Thompson is an American country music artist signed to Columbia Records Nashville. On July 27, 2009, he released his debut album Way Out Here in January 2010...
would transfer to RCA Nashville as part of a corporate restructuring.
Lambert wrote or co-wrote six of the album's tracks. Included on the album is a duet with Blake Shelton
Blake Shelton
Blake Tollison Shelton is an American country music artist. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". Released as the lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts...
titled "Better in the Long Run."
Commercial Performance
The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
with 133,000 copies sold in its first week, making it Lambert's highest charting album of her career.
Reception
Four the Record received positive reviews from music critics. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on 11 reviews, indicating "Universal acclaim".
Allmusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine, praised the bravery of album and awarded it with four-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote: "with Four the Record, she’s digging deeper than ever before and finding considerable riches." Country Weekly
Country Weekly
Country Weekly is an American tabloid style weekly magazine established in 1994. The magazine focuses on country music stars and events, and regularly features exclusive interviews with recording artists and country music news...
gave the album five stars out of five and wrote: "With due respect to her previous fine efforts, Four the Record is easily Miranda's best album yet." Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave a very positive review to the album, rated it as A- and said: "Four is her most vivid effort yet, with brilliantly observed songs about lust (Fine Tune) and disappointment (Same Old You), as well as a stirring celebration of diversity (All Kinds of Kinds)." The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
was also positive on the album, rated it as B+ and wrote:" The bevy of writers and co-writers guiding Lambert results in a ranging, not especially cohesive album that makes up for the occasional dud (the schmaltzy power ballad "Better In The Long Run," a duet with Lambert's husband Blake Shelton) with plenty of solid earworms (the catchy mid-tempo "Safe") and a couple of welcome left turns (the loping, back-porch sing-along "Easy Living")."
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
writer Jonathan Keefe gave the album three-and-half-stars out of 5 and said: "Without a thematic through line or recurring lyrical motifs or meaningful efforts at myth-building or any of the other sophisticated flourishes that have made her albums so rich, Four the Record is left as a solid collection of better-than-average songs cast in arrangements that offer a progressive take on modern country." Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
magazine scored it as 7 out of 10 and commented: "The real strength here is the feline sharpness of Lambert's voice." The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
gave a positive review to the album and said: "On a rock solid and expansive set of songs, Lambert mixes backbeats, production styles, fuzzed-out vocals, slinky slide guitars, and other offbeat elements into a cohesive whole." Randy Lewis of Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
was also positive on the album and wrote: "This successor represents a further evolution of her talent as both creator and interpreter."
The album also received some mixed reviews. One of them came from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
writer Stephen Holden, who said: "Normally, she's emphatic in the right places, but this album also includes some of Ms. Lambert's least committed singing." The other one was from PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
which scored it as 6 out of 10 and criticized: "This is the weakest of Lambert's four big solo records, and overall it lacks the lively charm of Hell on Heels, her excellent August album with the supergroup Pistol Annies."
Track listing
Album
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Country Albums Chart | 11 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
12 |
| UK Country Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
5 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
3 |
| US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Top Country Albums |
1 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
CAN Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
||
| 2011 | "Baggage Claim Baggage Claim "Baggage Claim" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country artist Miranda Lambert. It was released in August 2011 as the lead-off single from her fourth studio album, Four the Record... "A |
3 | 44 | 74 |
- A Current single.
Personnel
Credits adapted from Allmusic.Technical and production
- Stephen Marcussen - mastering
- James Towler - engineering
- Chuck Ainlay - engineering, mixing, producer
- Ryan Krieg - assistant engineer, mixing assistant
- Brandon Schexnayder - assistant engineer, mixing assistant
- Stewart Whitmore - digital editing
- Brittany Hamlin - production cordination
- Frank Liddell - producer
- Glenn Worf - producer
Visuals and imagery
- Randee St. Nicholas - photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
- Tammie Harris Cleek - imagingImagingImaging is the representation or reproduction of an object's outward form; especially a visual representation .- Imaging methodologies and technologies :...
, photo production - Mylah Morales - make-up
- Enzo Angileri - hair stylist
- Tiffany Gifford - stylistStylistStylist can refer to:* Hair stylist, a person who cuts and styles hair* Personal stylist, a person concerned with the style of a single individual* Wardrobe stylist, a person who chooses clothing and accessories...
- Tracy Baskette-Fleaner - creative directorCreative DirectorA creative director is a position often found within the graphic design, film, music, fashion, advertising, media or entertainment industries, but may be useful in other creative organizations such as web development and software development firms as well....
, design - Judy Forde-Blair - creative producer, liner notes
Sounding
- Vocals - Miranda Lambert
- Background vocals - Betsey Long, Sarah BuxtonSarah BuxtonSarah Buxton is an American country music artist, formerly signed to the independent Lyric Street Records...
, Glen Duncan, Karen Fairchild, Josh KelleyJosh KelleyJoshua Bishop "Josh" Kelley is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Kelley has recorded for Hollywood Records, Threshold Records and DNK Records as a pop rock artist, and has had four hit singles on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart...
, Stoney LaRueStoney LarueStoney LaRue is a Texas Country/Red Dirt artist. Born in Taft, Texas, LaRue was raised in Southeastern Oklahoma and began playing country music at a young age....
, Patty LovelessPatty LovelessPatty Loveless , is an American country music singer.Since her emergence on the country music scene in late 1986 with her first album, Loveless has been one of the most popular female singers of the Neotraditional country movement, although she has also recorded albums in the Country pop and...
, Gordon Mote, Kimberly Schlapman, Brandi Carlile, Don Henry, Allison Moorer, Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, Scotty Wray, Glenn WorfGlenn WorfGlenn Worf is one of the premier Nashville session bassists. He was born in Dayton, Ohio but grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and has concentrated on the bass guitar since he was thirteen. He majored in music at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Inevitably his talents forced him to abandon the...
, Randy ScruggsRandy ScruggsRandy Scruggs is a music producer, songwriter and guitarist. He had his first recording at the age of 13... - Guest vocal appearance - Blake SheltonBlake SheltonBlake Tollison Shelton is an American country music artist. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". Released as the lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts...
(on track 12; "Better in the Long Run") - Vocal Recording - Steven Christensen, Martin FeveyearMartin FeveyearMartin Feveyear is a British record producer and audio engineer based in Seattle, Washington. Beginning as a singer-songwriter and musician, Feveyear soon began recording work for artists in both the UK and US before moving to Seattle at the age of 25. Together with Christian Fulghum , he opened...
, Emory Gordy
On Instruments
- John Jarvis - PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
- Randy Scruggs - BanjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, MandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... - Glenn Worf - Bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Upright bass - Richard Bennett - BouzoukiBouzoukiThe bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
, Guitar - Jay Joyce - ClavinetClavinetA Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
, Guitar, Pump organ - Matt Chamberlain - Drums, Percussion
- Greg Leisz - DobroDobroDobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
, Steel guitarSteel guitarSteel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
Managerial
- Lisa Ramsey-Perkins - A&RA&RArtists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...